Cult leader Orson William Black was arrested in Mexico in a joint US/Mexico operation . Image-Tomada de El Diario de Jaurez

Mexican police have detained a polygamous cult leader wanted in the United States on charges of pedophilia and who is a suspect in the murder of three U.S. citizens in Mexico.

Orson William Black Jr. was arrested in the Mexican border state of Chihuahua along with his four wives and 22 other people, including minors, state prosecutors said in a statement.

In a joint operation with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), about 100 police officers swooped down on three houses and two ranches where Black and his followers were living, the statement said.

The arrests followed an investigation into the September 10 murder of three U.S. citizens in the region, aged 15, 19 and 23.

Black is a suspect in the murder of three men, but has not yet been charged. He is also facing human trafficking charges.

For now, Black and others arrested are accused of entering Mexico illegally, and animal cruelty, after police found butchered and frozen animals on the properties.

Black had been wanted in the U.S. for 15 years on pedophilia charges in the U.S. state of Arizona, before fleeing to Mexico.